


Setback.

by starsystem



Series: Wounded [3]
Category: FFXV - Fandom, Final Fantasy 15, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Brotherhood Mentions, Emotional Hurt, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Prompto, Injury, Kinda, Luna Mentions, M/M, Mental Anguish, Pining, Promptis - Freeform, Sadness, Self-Doubt, Self-Harm, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Worry, and a horrible person, breakdown - Freeform, i made myself sad writing this, im evil, prompto cant catch a break around me tbh, someone punch me in the face for doing this to prompto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-09-25 13:30:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9822740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsystem/pseuds/starsystem
Summary: Prompto struggles physically and even more so emotionally.





	

Droplets of scorching water rebound off Prompto's leather wristbands. Wristbands that never come off. Steam pervades the bathroom. It fogs up the windows and mirrors; escapes underneath the base of the wooden door - a poisonous gas that creeps into each and every corner of the motel room and births condensation on every single possible surface. It's absolutely suffocating.

The stream pounds rhythmically against his back: Prompto's sitting on the floor of the running shower. Dressed completely, at that. Most movements were painful. He was unable to put any weight on that one limb and undressing himself proved excessively strenuous. _I can't even undress myself. How can I expect myself to continue on with them? I should have known. It was only a matter of time before I had to be left behind. The only question was when._

His eyes swell. A shuddering choke escapes him. Prompto's overly grateful for the sounds around him now. The soft rattle of decaying plumbing. Distracting hums of conversation and music behind attenuated walls - Lestallum's liveliness. He could even somewhat make out the familiar yet distant tune of a mobile game coming from the other room. He presses an able knee up against his chest and muffles another cry by gnawing at the scrawny bone. It doesn't help much. At all, really. _I'm not good enough. For Gladio. For Ignis. For...Noct._  
  
_Noct._

Tears run down Prompto’s cheeks but wash away before even breathing air. They're no match against the other continuous cascade. He bows his head and allows the water pressure to part his blonde locks down the middle. His eyes squeeze closed. _Luna_. Guilt washes over him. His heart sinks at her name alone; at the very thought of her. _I'm so sorry. You saved me. You gave me the courage to pull myself out of that pathetic and lonely excuse of a childhood. I wouldn't be right here without you. I would have never met Noctis. You made me a better person. And how do I replay you? I fall in love with him._ The realization breaks him. Prompto could barely restrain any more cries. He sobs as silently as possible. _I'm such a fucking idiot. What am I thinking?_ There's a brief shuffle of movement in the other room. A few silent moments as Prompto struggles to remain quiet enough. Then, some muffled voices. Ignis and Gladio must have returned from the nearby markets with overflowing bags of goods, no doubt.

Prompto's in no rush to move, though. He's numb with emotion. Paralyzed. He needs a release. His body aches with rage and shame. It begs for comfort. For resolution. For acceptance. The next moment comes in an absolute blur: Prompto's fist connects with the slippery wall beside him with an unexpected amount of vigor and force. Ceramic shatters beneath now bloodied knuckles. The sensation of more bones fracturing somewhat grounds him. If only for a moment...before the pain sets in. It's a new kind of agony - something entirely different from the merciless ache resonating from his other healing wound. Prompto's almost appreciative for that, in a sick way. He immediately regrets it. _I'm making this worse for myself. Gods, pull yourself together_. He releases a breathless gasp from the back of his throat.

"Prompto? It’s been a while. You alive in there?" Noctis sounds. There’s a hint of laughter in his voice left over from a previous conversation. Everyone’s spirits seem to have lifted ever since Prompto woke back up. He doesn’t want to ruin it. He remains silent instead. _I can’t face them. Not now. Not like this._

"Yeah, you're killing us in here with all this steam. We didn’t rent a sauna." Gladio says with a chuckle.  
  
With reddened eyes and a blank expression, Prompto shifts away from the shower stream. He leans a shoulder against the wall and stares at the cracked dent in it before shivering violently despite the warmth of the water. His anxiety makes him feel physically sick. He could hear Ignis from the other room attempting to coerce him out with the promise of baked goods. His stomach lurches at the mention of it. Gladio, on the other hand, merely wants a shower of his own. He’s more blunt about his request and simply urges him to get a move on. Prompto rests his hands in the space between his outstretched legs; watches as the water collecting at the bottom of the bathtub runs a slight pink color every so often. His knuckles continue to spit out blood. The pressure of the cascading droplets sting. _No. I can’t hide in here forever._  
  
Prompto somehow pulls himself up from the floor of the shower. It’s no easy task with now various limbs protesting in pain with each and every move. He glances over the distance to the bathroom door. It seems like a mile away. Blood rushes down from his head and makes him overly light-headed. _Stood up too fast, I think._ He couldn’t risk sitting back down to recover. He’d definitely never get up again without help. Black splotches start creeping menacingly into his peripheral vision; a deafening ring materializes in his ears. He stumbles out of the shower with a loud crash after clumsily reaching for the shower curtain for desperate support. It slips between his fingers against the overbearing weight of his grasp. The entire rod comes down and clatters noisily against the floor. Prompto crashes into the adjacent counter as a result. Someone knocks more urgently on the door again. There’s a shadow of a figure near the crack at the bottom.  
  
Prompto’s legs give out from underneath him without warning. He catches himself; props up against the granite and hangs on for dear life. His vision begins to slip away. _Not yet. I need to see them all one last time. I need to say a proper farewell_. He struggles for air with all the smothering stream overpowering the room. It makes him even more dizzy. Toys at his consciousness. He scrambles to find his balance. To stay conscious for only a few moments more. To make a couple extra weak steps. To get to that _goddamn_ door. The room blurs unapologetically and Prompto could barely hear the now consistent pounding at the door anymore, nor make out the voice yelling out from the other side. He’s persistent, though. He gathers every ounce of remaining strength to shuffle forward.

With a draining lurch, Prompto grabs at the knob and swings the door open. He slams against the frame weakly immediately afterwards and clings onto it. His entire body’s screaming out in pain - dripping wet from worn clothes that adhere to his frame claustrophobically. He’s greeted by the three other figures: Gladio was seemingly ready to break down the door by the looks of his stature, whereas Noctis was reaching out to him and Ignis was advancing slowly. All with concerned expressions. _I made it._ His gaze falls on Noctis. He wants to admit everything right there. Confess all of the inner-workings of his brain. Beg for another chance. Beg for them not to leave him yet. No matter how utterly pathetic that would sound. He wasn’t ready.

“I...” Prompto mutters. The word was barely understandable - more of a feeble croak. He had no strength left to continue.

His friend’s images disappear from his vision in a rush of black as Prompto‘s eyes roll back and flutter closed. His body goes limp and collapses forward into Noctis' readied arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I'm sad and I hate myself for this. I apologize for the long wait for an update. As always, comments and kudos are seriously appreciated! Thank you guys so much for reading and expressing interest in my works! I seriously can't express my gratitude enough. It means a lot! :)
> 
> If you haven't already, I suggest you read the previous works to understand what's going on. They're all direct follow ups to each other!
> 
> Also, feel free to chat with me (or yell at me) on Tumblr @ [chocobeaus](https://chocobeaus.tumblr.com) :3
> 
> Update 10/15/17 - Wow, I’m so sorry guys for having no updates for you. I didn’t even realize how long its been! I’ve had writers block for a while and then started a new program at school so I am pretty swamped with that. Just wanted to pop in and let you know I do still plan on updating, but I’m just not sure when. Sorry for any disappointment and thank you for your patience with me! :D


End file.
